Subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness alters cooling time during cryotherapy.

Objective: To determine if differing subcutaneous adipose thickness alters the treatment duration required to produce a standard cooling effect during cryotherapy.

Design: A 4-group, between-groups comparison in which the independent variable was skinfold thickness (0-10mm, 11-20mm, 21-30mm, 31-40mm) and the dependent variable was cooling time, defined as the treatment duration required to decrease intramuscular (IM) temperature 7 degrees C from baseline.

Setting: A sports injury research laboratory.